CTO, Partners Gearing Up For Recovery Forum

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is teaming up with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Euromonitor International, the Travel Foundation, and the University of the West Indies to present the Caribbean Tourism Recovery Forum on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15, 2020.

The virtual event will focus on planning and management of the recovery process for the Caribbean.

Neil Walters, the CTO’s acting secretary general, said: “From the onset of COVID-19, the CTO has sought expertise to assist our members with immediate, short-term and long-term recovery planning as they navigate the path towards rebuilding the regional tourism sector.”

Walters explained that: “Through this forum we are again able to capitalize on our close relations with these reputable organizations to provide insights and analyses about the sector, as well as explore some of the key areas that must be addressed to ensure success in the Caribbean’s tourism recovery process.”

The event also incorporates a capacity building element in the form of a workshop to assist destinations in applying a structured, measurable model to their own national planning.

It will have two distinct segments, with the first segment on Oct. 14 aimed at increasing awareness of steps to planning recovery and improving knowledge of the role of stakeholders in the recovery process. A range of areas will be covered, including the economic impact of COVID-19, travel sentiment and forecast, considerations around a vaccine, best practices for recovery and a model for sustainable tourism post-COVID.

Presenters for this session will include:

• Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel and Tourism Research at Euromonitor International
• Professor Clive Landis, Chairman, University of the West Indies COVID-19 Taskforce
• Alejandro Varela, Deputy Regional Director for the Americas at UNWTO
• Jeremy Sampson, Chief Executive Officer at The Travel Foundation

This segment is open to CTO members and partners in tourism and related fields and will run from 10:00 AM to 1:15 PM.

The second segment on Oct. 15 will target government members of the CTO for a Smart Recovery planning workshop facilitated by The Travel Foundation.

A unique feature of this workshop is that it combines learning and development, and post-implementation assessment. The program was developed by the teams at The Travel Foundation and City Nation Place and it has been successfully delivered in a number of other destinations as part of their tourism reopening plan.

Participants will gain in depth knowledge of recovery framework and are expected to complete and assess a recovery plan for their respective destinations.

Go to www.onecaribbean.org for more.